Council, mayor candidates discuss parking, solutions

Published: Tuesday, July 30, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, July 29, 2013 at 9:45 p.m.

From a shortage of free parking spaces to a perception of no spaces, City Council candidates differ in their views on the issue of parking downtown.

Some see it as a great problem to have. Others view it as a hurdle in need of quick conquering. But whether the space is half full or half empty, solutions to the issue are as unique as the candidates giving them thought.

Biggest issue

First-time council candidate Guri Andermann, a U.S. Army veteran and paralegal who retired to Hendersonville in 2004, said she sees the downtown parking issue affecting tourists, business owners, employees and event attendees.

She is one of eight people running for two seats on the council. Three candidates are vying for mayor. Council candidate Diane Caldwell could not be reached for comment Monday.

“I would rank the parking issue as the second or third most important issue the city has because tourism is such a large part of the city/county revenue,” Andermann said. “I myself have not had an issue with parking.”

For Mayor Pro-tem Jeff Collis, running for his third term, there are bigger issues facing the city. On a list of top five concerns, “I see parking as a five,” he said. “I think if you will read between the lines of some of the advocates that are making this an issue, you will see the mention of going to a trolley system. Do any of the voices complaining about parking own a trolley company? When I ran for City Council 10 years ago, I met with the Main Street director to talk about parking. I was surprised at how much parking was available then, and the same areas continue to be open today. All of our parking lots available are half as close as the farthest space you would walk at Walmart to shop.”

When it comes to parking downtown, Collis views “signage and storefront parking” as the biggest stumbling blocks to the “perceived issue.” A Main Street subcommittee and city planning department “have been working for over a year to come up with ways that will help to direct people to the spaces available off Main Street,” he said. “Storefront parking is something people seem to be looking for and it is a commodity that we will never be able to make more of.”

Candidate Lynda Erwin said one of her main interests is “improving the parking downtown.” She said she has been turned away from downtown on occasions when she couldn't find a parking space to buy sheet music from Tempo Music Center or Swanson's and Sons.

Stephen Franks, a retired District Court judge running for mayor, says parking is the top issue facing the council. He said a “shortage of free parking” and signs where free spaces can be found, along with “the nuisance of parking meters,” deter shoppers from coming to Main Street.

Franks has had trouble before finding a space downtown, but found “it was available if I was willing to walk two blocks to Main Street.”

Council candidate Ralph Freeman, who serves on three city boards and previously served two years on the council, says there are two issues when it comes to downtown parking.

“No. 1 is the general public is basically spoiled and wants to park in front of merchants as they go downtown,” he said. “Ample parking” is available downtown, unless there is a major event like the Apple Festival or Garden Jubilee, which draw a lot of people, he added.

“If we do list it as a top issue, as possibly we should, it should be a relatively quick fix in regards to some of the other issues facing the city and should be dealt with in short order,” Freeman said. “I don't consider having problems parking when I cannot conveniently find a space in front of a restaurant. Streets are full of people and cars, which I think is a good thing. We work hard to bring these people to town. We need to educate everyone, including our locals, that parking is available, but the space they get may not be their first choice.”

The true issue of parking downtown rests in the eye of the beholder, said council candidate Jeff Miller.

“For the shopper, finding a space within a one-block walk of Main Street seems to be the biggest challenge. Some of the metered lots are below the elevation of Main Street and make walking up a somewhat steep grade necessary. For younger people and those with no mobility issues, this should not be a problem,” he said.

“For store owners, employees and residents, things are a bit different. For a store owner that is loading and unloading right off of Main Street, this has to be very difficult. Something needs to be addressed here to help make this work a bit better,” he added. “Providing a reasonable number of free spaces for employees to park certainly needs to be looked at, but these spaces will not be the spaces closest to Main.”

Hendersonville High teacher and mock trial coach Jerry Smith, who is running for re-election to the council, notes that “perception is the biggest problem.”

“While it is never easy to park on Main Street, one can usually find a spot on a side street, Church or King within a reasonable amount of time. Changing perceptions so that people understand that there is parking, but that the parking will probably be a block or two away ... is the key,” he said.

Although Smith said he expects to search for a spot, he has never left downtown because he could not find parking.

On a possible list of top five issues facing the council, Smith sees “improving parking signage” at the bottom of the list.

Two-term Councilman Ron Stephens who is running for mayor, differed slightly in his ranking.

“I think the biggest issue is finding a place for employees and business owners to park,” he said.

He labeled parking as No. 4 on his list of the top five concerns facing the council. He said he “rarely” has trouble finding a space downtown.

First-time council candidate Bonnie Wilson said the “biggest issue with parking downtown is finding a parking spot when you need one.” She sees downtown parking at the top of the list of concerns.

Incumbent Mayor Barbara Volk, who has served on the council since 1989 and is running for her second term as mayor, believes the issue “will be finalized within the next few months. It is a serious concern for some people, but will be dealt with by the council soon.”

The biggest issue with parking downtown is finding a balance between “the needs of the different interest groups,” including shoppers, diners, employees, business owners, tourists and locals, she said.

Solutions

Andermann advises the city to “drop the Draconian rule that parking is prohibited in the same or adjoining block twice in a day.”

City employees have said the contiguous parking law was used to encourage a turnover of spaces and deter employees from skirting parking limits by moving their car a space over in the same lot when their time runs out. She recommends the city look at new street signs for parking, credit-card-swiping meters for travelers without change and providing event parking in a wide area that includes Seventh Avenue.

She suggests the city talk to near-Main Street parking lot owners about providing temporary spaces during events and negotiate or contract with owners of large lots for event parking, with shuttle services paid for by passengers.

“Employees should not have to feed meters, not just because of the expense, but because they can't continually leave their jobs and relocate their cars every three hours,” Andermann said. “I support the idea that employees have a special sticker for their cars and should park in one or two designated lots.”

For business owners, she said, the city “should absolutely allow businesses to use spaces next to or in front of their shops for loading and unloading.”

Collis suggests the city “continue to work on signage and make it clear where all the open parking is through (the city's) website. I also think adding meters that allow for credit card or mobile apps will help.”

Erwin thinks the city should “try to accommodate the stores for loading and unloading.” But she does not agree with building a two-story parking structure. “We need to use the facilities we have and be more aware of what's available.”

She added that using a shuttle to bring people in for big events such as the Apple Festival has been “a great idea.”

Franks recommends the city “locate the potential parking areas on vacant and blocked lots on Church and King streets, negotiate with owners to provide free parking, and remove parking meters from all locations.”

“The most effective and the least cost-wise to me for the city taxpayers,” Freeman said, “are better signage and mapping of all the businesses and localities as to where free parking exists as well as where parking lots are located,” he added.

Miller said, “My first impulse would be to improve directional signs to the different parking areas and provide some free parking for employees in designated lots.” He wants to hear what is said at the city's public parking workshop on Aug. 13 before he passes judgment on the issues, adding it's “time to listen.”

“I have a business on King Street and have parking for our customers and most of the staff so, we don't wrestle with the same problems,” he said. “For store owners that are loading or unloading, how about a card to display in the window with an ID number on it. If they get caught in the store and don't get back in 15 minutes the officer gives them a ‘courtesy call' to remind them to move. If they become a habitual offender they can have their pass pulled,” he said.

Smith also offered a solution of “better signage.” “The council, through the input of the merchants involved with the Main Street committees, needs to improve the signage downtown to indicate where free on-street parking is located, as well as where metered lots are located,” he said.

Stephens said he's working on a parking tag system that employees could use. “I think I've about gotten to a place where we could control it and they could park in certain places with those tags for no cost,” he said. “I would continue finishing up the things we're already working on, including better signs and repainting on the asphalt and pavement where parking spaces have faded.”

Mayor Volk said, “The council should carefully review the results of the (upcoming) parking workshop, which I hope will offer a consensus plan.”

More parking needed?

Franks, who has campaigned for the abolition of metered parking, said he still feels like more spaces may be needed from Seventh Avenue to Allen Street.

Even though city officials have noted that free spaces in the past were often taken by downtown employees who park all day, Franks said the free spaces would work with “three-hour limits enforced by parking enforcement.” He added that the city should “encourage employers to encourage employees to park farther away.”

Freeman said, “The city cannot afford to purchase property exclusively for parking or even to consider building a parking deck at this time.”

When the city does have major events downtown, he said, the owners of private lots, like churches, often use parking as a fundraising tool.

“I would encourage business owners to investigate maybe pooling their resources and coming up with leased private parking spaces for their employees. I do not feel that it's the taxpayers' responsibility to provide parking for employees or parking for tenants that rent living space downtown,” he said. “That should be the employers' and the landlords' responsibilities. The city has made substantial investments on Main Street, which has us ranked top in the southeast, and I feel the city has done a considerable amount to help the merchants in that respect.”

Smith said he's not in favor of building a parking deck. “Of course additional parking would be great. At this point, the only way to increase public parking is for the city to take control of a private lot and convert it to a public lot, for all to use. I am not sure what the cost of this would be, nor am I convinced this is needed.”

Collis said, “I believe we have plenty of open parking downtown if people will enjoy a very small stroll to the parking lots. I do think that merchants hold a key in encouraging their employees to free up spaces for customers. That is a no-brainer, but for some reason we have folks that complain we aren't doing enough to free up spaces, but then park in valuable customer spots themselves.”

Erwin suggested that the lot surrounding the Curb Market could possibly be used for parking on days when the market is not in operation. “I think additional parking is needed and I think there are probably a lot of areas that we could use for parking that I'm not aware of,” she said.

Andermann said, “The Times-News has shown that there seems to be enough parking if one is willing to walk a sufficient distance. This indicates that a parking deck will not necessarily solve the problem, because the closest place to build it is at least two blocks away.”

Stephens agreed that the city needs more parking, but said, “I don't think we'll ever have ‘enough.' I don't think any downtown will have ‘enough.' I think we need to make better use of what we have and keep our eyes going forward.”

Wilson, who is running a joint campaign with Franks and Erwin, said she agrees “the meters need to be taken away.” She suggests the city work to lease or buy a vacant building near the corner of First Avenue and King Street for the creation of a parking garage where employees and shoppers alike could park with the purchase of a city pass.

Volk said, “Except for special events, there is always parking within two short blocks of Main Street, so I find it hard to justify spending money for additional parking lots.”

Parking workshop

All candidates plan to attend the city's workshop on parking slated for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at the City Operations Center at 305 Williams St. The public is encouraged to attend and help the city brainstorm solutions. Participants are asked to notify LuAnn Welter by calling 828-697-3088 or emailing lwelter@cityofhendersonville.org so the city can have adequate refreshments on hand.

<p>From a shortage of free parking spaces to a perception of no spaces, City Council candidates differ in their views on the issue of parking downtown. </p><p>Some see it as a great problem to have. Others view it as a hurdle in need of quick conquering. But whether the space is half full or half empty, solutions to the issue are as unique as the candidates giving them thought.</p><p>Biggest issue</p><p>First-time council candidate Guri Andermann, a U.S. Army veteran and paralegal who retired to Hendersonville in 2004, said she sees the downtown parking issue affecting tourists, business owners, employees and event attendees. </p><p>She is one of eight people running for two seats on the council. Three candidates are vying for mayor. Council candidate Diane Caldwell could not be reached for comment Monday. </p><p>“I would rank the parking issue as the second or third most important issue the city has because tourism is such a large part of the city/county revenue,” Andermann said. “I myself have not had an issue with parking.”</p><p>For Mayor Pro-tem Jeff Collis, running for his third term, there are bigger issues facing the city. On a list of top five concerns, “I see parking as a five,” he said. “I think if you will read between the lines of some of the advocates that are making this an issue, you will see the mention of going to a trolley system. Do any of the voices complaining about parking own a trolley company? When I ran for City Council 10 years ago, I met with the Main Street director to talk about parking. I was surprised at how much parking was available then, and the same areas continue to be open today. All of our parking lots available are half as close as the farthest space you would walk at Walmart to shop.”</p><p>When it comes to parking downtown, Collis views “signage and storefront parking” as the biggest stumbling blocks to the “perceived issue.” A Main Street subcommittee and city planning department “have been working for over a year to come up with ways that will help to direct people to the spaces available off Main Street,” he said. “Storefront parking is something people seem to be looking for and it is a commodity that we will never be able to make more of.”</p><p>Candidate Lynda Erwin said one of her main interests is “improving the parking downtown.” She said she has been turned away from downtown on occasions when she couldn't find a parking space to buy sheet music from Tempo Music Center or Swanson's and Sons. </p><p>Stephen Franks, a retired District Court judge running for mayor, says parking is the top issue facing the council. He said a “shortage of free parking” and signs where free spaces can be found, along with “the nuisance of parking meters,” deter shoppers from coming to Main Street. </p><p>Franks has had trouble before finding a space downtown, but found “it was available if I was willing to walk two blocks to Main Street.”</p><p>Council candidate Ralph Freeman, who serves on three city boards and previously served two years on the council, says there are two issues when it comes to downtown parking.</p><p>“No. 1 is the general public is basically spoiled and wants to park in front of merchants as they go downtown,” he said. “Ample parking” is available downtown, unless there is a major event like the Apple Festival or Garden Jubilee, which draw a lot of people, he added.</p><p>“If we do list it as a top issue, as possibly we should, it should be a relatively quick fix in regards to some of the other issues facing the city and should be dealt with in short order,” Freeman said. “I don't consider having problems parking when I cannot conveniently find a space in front of a restaurant. Streets are full of people and cars, which I think is a good thing. We work hard to bring these people to town. We need to educate everyone, including our locals, that parking is available, but the space they get may not be their first choice.”</p><p>The true issue of parking downtown rests in the eye of the beholder, said council candidate Jeff Miller.</p><p>“For the shopper, finding a space within a one-block walk of Main Street seems to be the biggest challenge. Some of the metered lots are below the elevation of Main Street and make walking up a somewhat steep grade necessary. For younger people and those with no mobility issues, this should not be a problem,” he said.</p><p>“For store owners, employees and residents, things are a bit different. For a store owner that is loading and unloading right off of Main Street, this has to be very difficult. Something needs to be addressed here to help make this work a bit better,” he added. “Providing a reasonable number of free spaces for employees to park certainly needs to be looked at, but these spaces will not be the spaces closest to Main.”</p><p>Hendersonville High teacher and mock trial coach Jerry Smith, who is running for re-election to the council, notes that “perception is the biggest problem.” </p><p>“While it is never easy to park on Main Street, one can usually find a spot on a side street, Church or King within a reasonable amount of time. Changing perceptions so that people understand that there is parking, but that the parking will probably be a block or two away ... is the key,” he said. </p><p>Although Smith said he expects to search for a spot, he has never left downtown because he could not find parking. </p><p>On a possible list of top five issues facing the council, Smith sees “improving parking signage” at the bottom of the list. </p><p>Two-term Councilman Ron Stephens who is running for mayor, differed slightly in his ranking. </p><p>“I think the biggest issue is finding a place for employees and business owners to park,” he said. </p><p>He labeled parking as No. 4 on his list of the top five concerns facing the council. He said he “rarely” has trouble finding a space downtown.</p><p>First-time council candidate Bonnie Wilson said the “biggest issue with parking downtown is finding a parking spot when you need one.” She sees downtown parking at the top of the list of concerns. </p><p>Incumbent Mayor Barbara Volk, who has served on the council since 1989 and is running for her second term as mayor, believes the issue “will be finalized within the next few months. It is a serious concern for some people, but will be dealt with by the council soon.” </p><p>The biggest issue with parking downtown is finding a balance between “the needs of the different interest groups,” including shoppers, diners, employees, business owners, tourists and locals, she said. </p><p><b>Solutions</b></p><p>Andermann advises the city to “drop the Draconian rule that parking is prohibited in the same or adjoining block twice in a day.”</p><p>City employees have said the contiguous parking law was used to encourage a turnover of spaces and deter employees from skirting parking limits by moving their car a space over in the same lot when their time runs out. She recommends the city look at new street signs for parking, credit-card-swiping meters for travelers without change and providing event parking in a wide area that includes Seventh Avenue.</p><p>She suggests the city talk to near-Main Street parking lot owners about providing temporary spaces during events and negotiate or contract with owners of large lots for event parking, with shuttle services paid for by passengers.</p><p>“Employees should not have to feed meters, not just because of the expense, but because they can't continually leave their jobs and relocate their cars every three hours,” Andermann said. “I support the idea that employees have a special sticker for their cars and should park in one or two designated lots.”</p><p>For business owners, she said, the city “should absolutely allow businesses to use spaces next to or in front of their shops for loading and unloading.”</p><p>Collis suggests the city “continue to work on signage and make it clear where all the open parking is through (the city's) website. I also think adding meters that allow for credit card or mobile apps will help.” </p><p>Erwin thinks the city should “try to accommodate the stores for loading and unloading.” But she does not agree with building a two-story parking structure. “We need to use the facilities we have and be more aware of what's available.”</p><p>She added that using a shuttle to bring people in for big events such as the Apple Festival has been “a great idea.”</p><p>Franks recommends the city “locate the potential parking areas on vacant and blocked lots on Church and King streets, negotiate with owners to provide free parking, and remove parking meters from all locations.”</p><p>“The most effective and the least cost-wise to me for the city taxpayers,” Freeman said, “are better signage and mapping of all the businesses and localities as to where free parking exists as well as where parking lots are located,” he added.</p><p>Miller said, “My first impulse would be to improve directional signs to the different parking areas and provide some free parking for employees in designated lots.” He wants to hear what is said at the city's public parking workshop on Aug. 13 before he passes judgment on the issues, adding it's “time to listen.”</p><p>“I have a business on King Street and have parking for our customers and most of the staff so, we don't wrestle with the same problems,” he said. “For store owners that are loading or unloading, how about a card to display in the window with an ID number on it. If they get caught in the store and don't get back in 15 minutes the officer gives them a 'courtesy call' to remind them to move. If they become a habitual offender they can have their pass pulled,” he said. </p><p>Smith also offered a solution of “better signage.” “The council, through the input of the merchants involved with the Main Street committees, needs to improve the signage downtown to indicate where free on-street parking is located, as well as where metered lots are located,” he said.</p><p>Stephens said he's working on a parking tag system that employees could use. “I think I've about gotten to a place where we could control it and they could park in certain places with those tags for no cost,” he said. “I would continue finishing up the things we're already working on, including better signs and repainting on the asphalt and pavement where parking spaces have faded.”</p><p>Mayor Volk said, “The council should carefully review the results of the (upcoming) parking workshop, which I hope will offer a consensus plan.”</p><p><b>More parking needed?</b></p><p>Franks, who has campaigned for the abolition of metered parking, said he still feels like more spaces may be needed from Seventh Avenue to Allen Street. </p><p>Even though city officials have noted that free spaces in the past were often taken by downtown employees who park all day, Franks said the free spaces would work with “three-hour limits enforced by parking enforcement.” He added that the city should “encourage employers to encourage employees to park farther away.”</p><p>Freeman said, “The city cannot afford to purchase property exclusively for parking or even to consider building a parking deck at this time.”</p><p>When the city does have major events downtown, he said, the owners of private lots, like churches, often use parking as a fundraising tool. </p><p>“I would encourage business owners to investigate maybe pooling their resources and coming up with leased private parking spaces for their employees. I do not feel that it's the taxpayers' responsibility to provide parking for employees or parking for tenants that rent living space downtown,” he said. “That should be the employers' and the landlords' responsibilities. The city has made substantial investments on Main Street, which has us ranked top in the southeast, and I feel the city has done a considerable amount to help the merchants in that respect.”</p><p>Smith said he's not in favor of building a parking deck. “Of course additional parking would be great. At this point, the only way to increase public parking is for the city to take control of a private lot and convert it to a public lot, for all to use. I am not sure what the cost of this would be, nor am I convinced this is needed.”</p><p>Collis said, “I believe we have plenty of open parking downtown if people will enjoy a very small stroll to the parking lots. I do think that merchants hold a key in encouraging their employees to free up spaces for customers. That is a no-brainer, but for some reason we have folks that complain we aren't doing enough to free up spaces, but then park in valuable customer spots themselves.”</p><p>Erwin suggested that the lot surrounding the Curb Market could possibly be used for parking on days when the market is not in operation. “I think additional parking is needed and I think there are probably a lot of areas that we could use for parking that I'm not aware of,” she said. </p><p>Andermann said, “The Times-News has shown that there seems to be enough parking if one is willing to walk a sufficient distance. This indicates that a parking deck will not necessarily solve the problem, because the closest place to build it is at least two blocks away.”</p><p>Stephens agreed that the city needs more parking, but said, “I don't think we'll ever have 'enough.' I don't think any downtown will have 'enough.' I think we need to make better use of what we have and keep our eyes going forward.”</p><p>Wilson, who is running a joint campaign with Franks and Erwin, said she agrees “the meters need to be taken away.” She suggests the city work to lease or buy a vacant building near the corner of First Avenue and King Street for the creation of a parking garage where employees and shoppers alike could park with the purchase of a city pass.</p><p>Volk said, “Except for special events, there is always parking within two short blocks of Main Street, so I find it hard to justify spending money for additional parking lots.”</p><p><b>Parking workshop</b></p><p>All candidates plan to attend the city's workshop on parking slated for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Aug. 13 at the City Operations Center at 305 Williams St. The public is encouraged to attend and help the city brainstorm solutions. Participants are asked to notify LuAnn Welter by calling 828-697-3088 or emailing lwelter@cityofhendersonville.org so the city can have adequate refreshments on hand.</p><p>Reach Weaver at emily.weaver@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7867.</p>